The Belgian Grand Prix was a race that was crucial for Haas to establish midfield dominance heading into the summer break. However, both of its drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen were knocked out in Q1 and unable to make any significant impression during Sunday’s race.
Magnussen finished the race in 15th before being promoted to 14th following George Russell’s disqualification. The Dane stated that the team pulled all the stops correctly but lamented his VF-24’s pace to be in contention for points in Stavelot. Originally, the team was targeting a 12th-place finish given the car’s pace.
“You know, it just didn’t have pace. I think we executed the race well. And, unfortunately, we just weren’t fast enough to be in contention.“
“I think, you know, P12 was right up there in front. And it wouldn’t have taken much to actually be up there. So, you know, P12 on a normal day is around where we are. So I think we just had, like, the average day that didn’t go our way.“
On paper, it is easy to assume that Haas had a poor weekend as evidenced by their less-than-stellar performance across the race weekend which only resulted in the team’s best finishing car in 14th. Magnussen had other ideas as the midfield competition is very “tight” and it is easy to swing either way.
“So it’s easy to look and say, oh, shit, we were P15, you know, not a good weekend. But, actually, it’s so tight that it could have easily swung slightly the other way.“
Magnussen planned to spend the summer break with a holiday before returning to the cockpit later this season, and hoping that the American outfit has upgrades in mind leading to the Dutch Grand Prix.
“Yeah, we just go on holiday, get a bit of a break, and hopefully hit the ground running in Zandvoort. And, you know, bring more upgrades, one or two, before the end of the year. And hopefully, stay in the fight.“
Magnussen was then asked about his thoughts on free air. While he prefers not to be stuck in a DRS train, it’s not always up to him
“I mean, yeah, free air is nice. [But] It depends. I mean, if someone’s in front of you, you’re only slightly slower then. And then you can kind of hang on to him with the DRS, and then you gain a couple of tenths. It depends on the situation.“
